1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a processing method thereof, and a computer-readable storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
An information processing apparatus, which is equipped with a pointing device such as a pen tablet or touch panel, incorporates, for example, a technique for operating a device based on the locus of coordinates input by the user. In such device, it is desirable to input a plurality of loci in an identical scene so as to increase the amount of information to be given to the device. Techniques that implement this are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-230483 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-122407.
With the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-230483, when the user draws a symbol by stroking on a touch panel, it is determined if the drawn symbol corresponds to one of sample symbols, which are set in advance. At this time, until it is determined that a sample symbol input by the user is an input end symbol, the user can successively draw a plurality of symbols. When it is determined that the drawn symbol is an input end symbol, a process according to a symbol or symbol string input so far is executed.
With the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-122407, a character located within the forming range of a locus input by the user is selected as a selected character. At this time, loci, which are input a plurality of times within a predetermined period of time, are recognized as a plurality of locus patterns. When the input locus patterns match one of a plurality of patterns associated with instructions, an instruction corresponding to the matched pattern is executed for the selected character.
In such information processing apparatus, techniques for selecting an arbitrary object by inputting a locus of coordinates are prevalent. Such techniques include one which extracts information other than a selected target from an input locus and uses it in a device operation. An image sensing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-319244 has a function of comparing a finger-input locus on a touch panel with gesture operations, which are set in advance, so as to determine a gesture operation, and settling a region designated by the determined gesture operation, and an image sensing or playback operation to be executed for the designated region. According to this technique, even when an identical closed region is designated, the process contents for the designated region can be switched by discriminating the moving direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) of the gesture operation and the stroke order. In addition, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-075980, the following technique is known. That is, when the user encloses a plurality of objects by the locus of a closed figure, and inputs a locus indicating a process in the vicinity of the former locus, the designated process is executed for the plurality of selected objects.
However, in the aforementioned related arts, the following practical problems are posed. In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-230483, the user has to separately input a dedicated symbol as an input end symbol in addition to a symbol string required to progress in a game. For this reason, every time the user inputs one instruction to the device, he or she is required to draw the input end symbol. Such requirement disturbs prompt device operations.
In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-122407, after the user inputs a locus, another locus input is accepted for a predetermined period of time, so as to cope with a plurality of locus inputs. For this reason, even when the user wants to end a locus input at that time, a wait time is generated until execution of an instruction. On the other hand, when this wait time is set to have a short duration, the user has to quickly input a plurality of loci. As a result, the input loci may have shapes different from those which the user intended, and locus inputs may not be completed in time. Furthermore, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-319244, the processes to be executed are switched based on the stroke order of the finger-input locus. However, the locus shape which is allowed at that time is limited to a closed region locus. Also, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-075980, objects selected as processing targets are only those which are located within a closed region locus that designates a range.